At 75, Ruth Drazen has begun a new life making films about death and illness. Drazen, who until a few years ago had no filmmaking experience, has embarked on a journey to explore through film how people can live their lives more productively and lovingly by confronting the inevitable. "This is the most important and meaningful thing I've ever done with my life," Drazen said this week by phone from her Manhattan apartment. "Illness and death are all part of life.

At 75, Ruth Drazen has begun a new life making films about death and illness. Drazen, who until a few years ago had no filmmaking experience, has embarked on a journey to explore through film how people can live their lives more productively and lovingly by confronting the inevitable. "This is the most important and meaningful thing I've ever done with my life," Drazen said this week by phone from her Manhattan apartment. "Illness and death are all part of life.